Archangel Michael, Defend Us In Battle

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who wander throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I did not believe that we would achieve this icon writing session today.  I tried and tried to draw the outline, but it seemed everything, including a very fussy baby got in the way.  I tried to remain patient through it.  I tried to lay the fussy baby down for a nap, but after being so fussy all she wanted to do was play.  She stayed awake for another hour and a half and I continued to work through the madness.  Then I tried to lay down the baby again and it did not seem she was going to sleep.  But then I thought, it seems that so much is getting in the way, evil is at hand.  So I prayed to St. Michael that he defend us against this evil so that we might complete this icon and be holy people.  And then the baby fell asleep very unexpectedly.  I returned to the other kids and they were ready to paint.  We talked about the Icon and painted.  It went smoothly and quickly and we have beautiful results to show.  If you ever entertained the thought that Archangel Michael might be a myth, stamp out such thoughts now.  The way this day started, and seeing how this day ended, it was nothing short of a miracle.  It was St. Michael's prayer and presence guiding us away from the "snares of the Devil."

This icon completes Alex's and my year of writing icons together.  I feel truly triumphant.  This is something we will have for the rest of our lives.  We have learned so much from this Windows into Heaven.  I hope to give this experience to all my children if we are able.

Kristiana got to have her own Icon.  It was a bit simpler than Alex's.  She was well pleased and did a good job.